A good deal of veterinary medicine involves performing surgery. Many of these surgical procedures are comparable to those that are performed in a human hospital. Each surgery is performed under sterile conditions in a surgery room specifically used for this purpose. All instruments used are sterilized for each surgery and sterile garments are worn by the veterinarian and assistants. Modern anesthetics are used (the same ones that are used in human hospitals) and the patient carefully monitored to help minimize the chances of any complications developing during the surgery. After the surgery, your pet is recovered in a warm area and continued to be monitored until fully awake. You are free to call the clinic to check on your pet at any time while he or she is in for surgery.
Spaying , or ovariohysterectomy, is commonly performed at around six months of age; before the first heat cycle. This is a major abdominal day surgery requiring a general anesthetic.
The benefits of spaying at a young age include preventing inadvertent pregnancies, preventing uterine, ovarian and mammary tumors, preventing uterine infections (pyometra), eliminating inconvienent heat cycles, and reducing certain hormonal related behavioural problems.
Neutering, or orchiectomy, is performed at around six months of age. It is a day surgery that involves a general anesthetic.
The advantages of neutering at six months of age include prevention of testicular tumors, greatly reducing the chances of prostate problems, and a reduction in hormone related behavioural problems.
Soft tissue surgery pertains to surgery involving the skin, ears, eyes and abdominal organs (such as stomach, intestines, bladder). Some examples of common soft tissue surgeries include laceration repair, abscess repair, removal of swallowed objects, removal of bladder stones, correction of eyelid problems, and removal of skin growths. We offer referral to a specialist for complicated soft tissue surgeries.
Orthopedic surgery refers to those surgical procedures performed on bones, muscles and ligaments/tendons. Often, pets will fracture a bone or rupture a ligament or dislocate a joint that requires surgical repair. Often these surgeries can be quite involved and, occasionally, may require referral to a specialist.